


The Stuff of Nightmares

by jedimasterstar



Series: The Road Taken [4]
Category: Marvel Avengers Movies Universe, NCIS: Los Angeles, The Avengers (2012)
Genre: Crossover, Friendship, Gen, Mystery
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-11-20
Updated: 2012-12-07
Packaged: 2017-11-19 02:36:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,768
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/568098
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jedimasterstar/pseuds/jedimasterstar
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It is their first mission together as partners.  But what Callen and Nadia do not know is that not everything is what it seems.  It is just a small, quiet town, right?  Maybe they just need to stop underestimating those sorts of things.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

_Late October 2012_

“Come on, old man,” goaded Nadia Vadim as she circled her partner on the sparring mat.

G. Callen shook his head in amusement at his dark-haired partner. Ever since he joined S.H.I.E.L.D., he had been working hard to get into the new pace that his new employers had – which meant learning to get along with his new partner. He had not made it easy for her, considering that he at first did not trust her because of who she was related to; but when she confronted him a month ago, they had been getting along quite well. She had definitely helped ease the transition.

He had also made a couple of friends thanks to her – mainly Natasha Romanoff, Clint Barton, and Phil Coulson. The agency’s two top operatives and Fury’s right hand man welcomed him in easily and made sure that everything was alright for him. He hardly saw them half the time since Tasha and Clint were members of the Avengers while Coulson was still recovering; but when they were around and the handler was up to it, the five of them went out for drinks. It was fun…even though they had to drag Callen out. However, he did admit that those times were fun. “Old man? Wow, your vocabulary surprises me,” he mocked as he took a punch at her.

Dodging, she laughed and said, “I can’t help it that you move so slow.” She then took the opportunity to drop kick him; but he managed to evade that.

Before they could continue, a voice said, “You’re both wanted in the briefing room.” The duo turned to see a young junior agent staring at them in wonder. “Director Fury and Agent Coulson ask that you come immediately,” he added as he turned and left.

Callen and Nadia looked at each other before shrugging. They grabbed their gear and stopped by their respective rooms before heading to the briefing room. Just like the young agent said, Fury and Coulson were waiting for them. “About time you two decide to show up,” Fury said as the duo walked in.

“Didn’t know we were on a time schedule,” Callen retorted, rolling his eyes.

Nadia chuckled. “We’re always on a time schedule. A few of us just don’t give a damn about it,” she said as she took a seat at the table.

Coulson rolled his eyes before sliding over files to each of them. “These contain your assignment,” he started.

“You think we’re ready?” asked Callen. He had not been with them for that long, so he found it rather intriguing.

“Callen, you’re more than ready. Besides, this should be fairly straightforward,” replied Coulson.

“Nadia has been an operative for us for a while. Your skills require less training thanks to your past affiliations,” said Fury. “You’re an operative now whether you think you are or not. However, you both are going to be more investigators than assassins and spies.” Callen stiffened a bit – he kept forgetting that this agency employed those types of people – but relaxed when Nadia gently put her hand on his knee.

“Anyway, you’re both going undercover in a small Vermont town called Moon Valley,” started Coulson, who quickly took charge back. “For the past few months – few years actually – tourists have been disappearing while visiting. Normally we leave this to the local police; but a couple weeks back, we began to pick up a few strange radiation signals coming from the town.”

“What kind of signals?” asked Nadia.

“We don’t know,” replied Fury. “But they have been intensifying.”

“You think something is going to happen,” said Callen, realizing what they were talking about.

Coulson nodded. “We think something is going to happen. We just don’t have the proof.”

“So you want us to go in and see what is going on.”

“Yes. Your cover is that of a newlywed couple taking a road trip through New England,” said Coulson as he handed them each a new folder.

Nadia smiled. “James and Cassandra Wright. Married two weeks ago after dating for three years. Both from New York,” she read.

“Coulson is your temporary handler on this case,” said Fury. “You answer to him and follow whatever he tells you both to do.”

“You both can come up with more of your background history. Just let our analysts know. You both leave in twelve hours,” said Coulson. “Dismissed.”

The duo nodded, grabbed the folders, and left. “Why does this sound like a wild goose chase?” asked Callen. “Are these missions normally like this?”

“For the most part. The stuff Tasha and Clint do is more straightforward considering each of their particular skill sets. SHIELD investigations tend to start with rumors before finding actual proof,” responded Nadia. Callen nodded as they continued on in silence before reaching Nadia’s room. As they entered, she said, “Okay, Mr. Wright – gosh, that sounds so cheesy. Anyway, you want to work on history.”

“Does that matter? Usually, Eric and Nell just set up false information that most people would look for like high school, college, awards, those sorts of things.”

“Our guys here do that to. So we don’t worry about that. But we do want to keep our stories straight,” she said. So they spent the next two hours fleshing out their “personal history”. Callen was not use to something like this; but he had to admit that it was fun.

Before they could go any further, a knock was heard on the door. “What?!” yelled Nadia. Callen laughed.

“Shove it, Nadia!” came the familiar voice of Clint Barton. “You both decent?”

“Get your mind out of the gutter, birdboy,” she retorted. “Come in!”

The door opened to reveal a man with light brown hair and blue eyes. He was dressed in civilian clothes. Spotting the folders, Clint asked, “You guys got a case?”

“Yeah, in Vermont,” said Nadia.

“Sounds fun. Lots of forest green.” Nadia rolled her eyes at that remark. Clint then looked towards Callen and asked, “You ready for this?”

Said man shrugged. “As ever. Though, from what I figuring, the cases that SHIELD deals with are going to be…”

“Interesting?” added Clint.

“Abnormal.”

Nadia laughed. “That’s for sure. SHIELD deals with abnormal quite well no matter how normal we try to make them,” she said.

Clint shook his head. “Tasha and I wanted to know if you guys want to go get something to eat. She’s even dragging her boyfriend along,” he said.

“She’s managed to get Bruce away from Stark?” asked Nadia. “I don’t want to know how she did that.”

Clint smiled and said, “Very wise decision.”

“Bruce? I didn’t know Tasha was dating,” said Callen. Though, come to think of it, he should have suspected it.

“Dr. Bruce Banner, otherwise known as the Hulk,” said Nadia. “Bruce is a nice guy and Tasha is good for him and vice versa. Though we should be thankful that he doesn’t have Stark’s tendencies.”

“That’s the truth,” agreed Clint. “But somehow he and Tony get along. Best friends even.” There was silence for a moment before Clint added, “If you guys are coming, we better get going. Tash and Bruce are going to meet us at the restaurant.” With that, he left.

Turning to her partner, Nadia said, “You hungry, darling?”

Seeing the mischief in her eyes, Callen replied, “Whenever you are, love.” They hid the files, grabbed their coats, and left to catch up with the assassin. They could not hang out long; but they can enjoy it while they can.

***

Dinner was wonderful; and Callen found Bruce Banner to be quite interesting. He had heard of him, of course. With the military searching for the scientist a few years back, everyone got involved. But Jenny Shepard kept NCIS out of it. No one knew why; but many thought that it was because she considered it an Army problem, not a Navy or Marine one.

Now, sitting across from the scientist, Callen could not figure out why he was so dangerous. Of course he knew that the big green guy the doctor can turn into was dangerous; but Banner seemed to have a good control over him. And he can see what Tasha saw in him. One would have thought she would go for a guy like Callen or Clint; but apparently she went for Banner because she understood him – she saw where he was coming from. And that seemed to make the relationship work.

“So when are you guys going to introduce him to the others?” asked Bruce as they finished dessert. Callen cringed. The subject of the Avengers had come up once or twice, but Nadia seemed reluctant to introduce him. Not that he cared – he rather not get involved with them. Clint and Tasha were enough.

“We haven’t thought that far yet,” said Nadia. “At first I was going to involve them but I put that thought away.” She looked at her partner. “I guess that leaves it up to you.”

“I’ll think about it,” Callen automatically said.

Bruce nodded. “The others are interesting,” he said. Clint, Tasha, and Nadia snorted. “Okay, ‘interesting’ wasn’t a good description.”

“That’s an understatement,” said Clint.

“Speak for yourself,” said Nadia. The archer tossed her a glare while Tasha chuckled.

“Let’s see. Tony’s an ass. Thor’s hardly ever there, so no way to really describe him. And Steve…well, Cap’s probably the nicest guy you’ll meet, considering how out of date he is,” said Clint. “Tony’s working on that.”

“Oh help us all,” muttered Nadia. She turned to Bruce. “Get Rogers away from Stark. He might actually learn something then.”

Bruce smiled. “I’ll try,” he said. “To tell the truth, he’s been asking Natasha and I questions more than going to Tony.” Nadia nodded her head in approval.

“He’s actually been doing well regardless,” said Natasha. “He goes at his own pace as to not get overwhelmed.” The redhead looked at Bruce. “Though Tony is an ass.” The group laughed.

Clint looked at his watch and said, “Damn, I guess we better leave. Callen and Nadia have a mission to start in a few hours.”

“We better back. Ready, Mrs. Wright?” he asked in a sweet fake voice.

Nadia grinned mischievously and replied, “If you are, Mr. Wright.”

“Seriously, those are your cover names?” asked a disbelieving Clint. The duo shrugged as they waved goodbye to the others and headed back to headquarters in order to pack and get some sleep. In five hours, they were going to become actors. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> On the road...except they were not planning on walking into _The Twilight Zone_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is Chapter 2! 
> 
> **Disclaimer:** I own nothing except the plot and Nadia.

“I hate road trips,” said Nadia as she and Callen were traveling through Vermont. They left New York earlier that morning so that they can get out of the city without having to deal with traffic. Coulson saw them off, making sure that they had the right documentation and their rings – very simple rings of white gold (Nadia’s was encrusted with diamonds). He also made sure to tell them to check-in regularly, since Nadia had a habit of not doing that. She grumbled at the remark, saying that if she checked in too often people would get suspicious. But they managed to finally get away and hit the road.

Smirking at her comment, Callen replied, “The scenery here is a bit better than in LA.”

“Point,” she conceded. “You got to miss out on everything autumn-y out there.”

“Is that a word?”

“Is now,” she replied. Callen chuckled and they continued on in silence. Soon enough, they found the sign that point toward Moon Valley. Turning off, they followed it…and the town was not what they expected it to be. They expected it to be all quaint and cheerful to attract folks. However, it was quaint and very dull…and very, very quiet. There were a few folks around; but the looks that they were giving the “couple” were anything but friendly. “Damn, why do I feel like we just walked into The Twilight Zone?” wondered Nadia as she looked around.

“Probably because this place looks peaceful except for the murderous glances,” retorted her partner. “Could be a remake of Out of the Mouth of Darkness.”

“You watched that?” she asked. She, Callen, Clint, and Tasha had a movie marathon a couple of weeks back and Clint wanted to watch it. Nadia was too tired and left; she did not like the movie anyway. But apparently they watched it.

“It was okay. Wasn’t expecting the ending.”

Nadia just shook her head. “Might as well find a hotel,” she said. Callen nodded and quickly spotted a bed and breakfast up ahead. As they pulled in, she asked, “You good?”

“Yeah,” he responded. “First time going under as a married man. But I can handle it.” He gave her a small smile. “Besides, I would do anything for my wife.”

Said “wife” scowled at him. “I’m going to kill you,” she muttered as she walked towards the front entrance, Callen chuckling right behind her. “Besides, I thought I read in your file that you were married while undercover.”

“But it was not part of the cover. Something that just happened,” he said.

“Ah,” she said as she looked at him. He just ignored her.

When they entered, they found a very rustic lobby – authentic log walls, wooden chairs, and paintings all over the place. “Welcome to Moon Valley B&B,” said the woman behind the desk. “My name is Ruth. Need a room?”

Callen put on a smile and replied, “A room for me and my new wife.” To emphasis the point, he wrapped his arm around Nadia’s waist. She responded by leaning against him slightly.

“Ah, newlyweds then,” the woman said, though Nadia could swear she heard a gleeful albeit malicious tone behind it.

“Yep,” said Callen. “We decided to travel New England to see the autumn colors.”

“Oh, this is a good time of year to visit,” she said as she handed them a paper. “Just need you to fill this out and then I will be able to give you a key.” Nadia took the paper and looked it over before writing anything. SHIELD was paying for the stay but the credit card was under Callen’s alias. After handing the paper back, Ruth handed them a key. “Here you go,” she said. “I hope you enjoy your visit here.”

Callen and Nadia smiled and went back outside to grab their bags. They packed light, so they did not have much. They walked past the front desk, trying to ignore Ruth staring at them, and went to their room. The room matched the lobby, except there was a queen size bed in the room and a door that more than likely lead to the bathroom. “Quaint,” comment Callen as he sat his bag on the floor.

“Quite nice, actually,” agreed Nadia. “One of the nicer places that I’ve stayed at.” She sat her bags on the bed and pulled out her phone to text Coulson that they made it. “So, it’s early enough. You want to explore?”

“I want to rest first,” he replied as he collapsed on the bed. “We left too early.”

“Says the man who’s a diagnosed insomniac,” teased Nadia as she climbed into the bed with him. Psych diagnosed him and had been trying to get him to take pills for it but he had been refusing.

“I’ve actually been sleeping a bit better,” he argued. She just laughed. “But resting may help out a bit before starting this.”

“Good point,” she concurred as she snuggled next to him. “Besides, this can give us a bit of practice. I never realized how comfy you are, G.” She laid her head on his chest and relaxed a bit.

Rolling his eyes at her teasing, he said, “Very funny.” But he let her lay on top of him. The quiet was nice and soon they were drifting off to sleep.

***  
Callen woke up a couple hours after they fell asleep. If Sam found out about this, he would declare it a victory. It has been the longest time he had slept at one time in a long time. He noticed that his partner was still asleep, so he stayed still as to not wake her.

He sighed. He had not thought much about Sam and the others since he joined SHIELD. Both Fury and Nadia told him that the team and Hetty were against what Granger did but could do nothing about it. Well, to a point. After getting out of prison, Callen sent a text to Sam to keep his job and make sure that Granger did not do anything stupid. Then what Sam told him next disturbed him. Hetty resigned – retired actually. Vance could not stop her this time, not if he wanted to keep the peace. Fortunately for the LA branch of the OSP, Vance put Gibbs up as Operations Manager. That surprised Callen the most. He figured Granger would pick Hetty’s replacement; but Vance did his own thing. But he wondered what possessed Gibbs to agree to the promotion. Guess he would have to get in contact with the older man at a later date.

But as for now, he did not know what to think. Everything had happen so fast that he had not had time to really process it. Now, he just wondered what was going to happen to him next. He was not too sure about anything yet; however, he was beginning to feel comfortable about it. Before he could muse on it a bit, he felt Nadia begin to wake up. “Ready to get up, sleepyhead?” he said as her eyes fluttered open.

“How long have we been asleep?” she asked as she slowly moved to stretch her body.

“A couple hours,” replied Callen as also moved, though for some reason he missed the feeling of her in his arms. He shook his head. “Want to get something to eat?”

She smiled and nodded. “Food sounds good,” she said as she grabbed her purse, checking it to make sure that she had the “essentials” – her gun, her knives, as well as her ID. Callen laughed lightly at this.

They soon found a nice little restaurant just around the corner that had very good food. But the suspicious glances and coldness from the townspeople was becoming more noticeable. They even ran into a few people that rudely told them off. “This is really strange,” said Callen as they took a walk after eating. They were walking down one of the paths that went by the forest. It was actually a very lovely evening, with the cool breeze and the clear sky. The stars were out in force tonight.

“Ya think?” retorted Nadia. “They seem to not want us here.”

“The question is why. If they were part of the tourists’ disappearances, they should be more friendly to us.”

“Ruth is,” murmured Nadia. Thoughts began to race through her mind. “What if it’s not everyone in town. What if…”

“It’s a certain group of people,” ended Callen, understanding where she was coming from. “But my first question stands.”

“There has to be a certain reason,” she said. But before she could muse on it any longer, a sharp cry rang out. “What the hell was that?” she wondered as she looked around. But all she felt was Callen pulling her closer to him. Wondering why he was doing that, she looked up at him but noticed that he was looking towards the woods. That was when she gasped. Standing at the edge of the woods was a…creature; though that was the best word for it. It was a bipedal animal that could pass for a werewolf but definitely was not. Its back was severely hunched, its fur was black, and its eyes glowed an unearthly green.

“I think we better go,” whispered Callen as he began to pull Nadia back with him. “Besides, if we pull out guns now, people will be really suspicious.”

“Good point,” she muttered. When they made it back next to a building, the creature disappeared. “Well, that was interesting,” said Nadia.

“At least we know what has been causing people to disappear,” said Callen.

“But for what?”

“Another question to add to the list.”

Nadia sighed. “Let’s get back to the B&B,” she said. “I think that a good night’s sleep might do us some good,” she suggested as she leaned against her partner. Somehow this case had become a lot more complicated.

“Let’s get going,” he said as they moved towards the direction of the bed and breakfast, all the while unaware that something is watching them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yep, I put Gibbs in charge of the LA OSP.  So it is AU of the last season of _NCIS_.  I am currently working on how Vance conned Gibbs into taking the position.  So you can keep a lookout for that.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Callen and Nadia give their report - well, what's there of it - and get an unexpected call.

The next morning turned out to be an almost early one. They – well, Nadia at least, Callen hardly – slept in until eight; which was when Coulson decided to call and yell at them for not checking in on time. “We’re supposed to be on our honeymoon,” complained Nadia, throwing a fake smile towards Callen’s direction.

Callen laughed. “Yeah, Coulson. Can’t we have a little privacy?” he chimed in as Nadia finished setting up the screen. He started to remember how much he hated video conference calls.

Coulson just rolled his eyes in response. “Just report,” he ordered.

“Nothing much. Town’s as creepy as some ghost town,” started Nadia.

“Except it’s occupied by creepy people who probably should be ghosts,” Callen chimed in.

“It’s way too quiet here. No laughing, no loud talking, no noise whatsoever,” she ended.

That was when Callen realized something. “I can’t believe I haven’t thought about it before,” he murmured.

Coulson looked at him and asked, “What is it, Agent Callen?”

“The children,” he replied.

“What about them?”

Callen looked at his partner and asked, “Haven’t you noticed anything about the children?”

Nadia stared at him for a moment before he saw the light of realization in her eyes. “Oh my gosh,” she whispered.

“What about the children?” asked Coulson, confusion evident.

They both look back at the screen. “We’ve only been here one night but we have not seen any children playing outside,” explained Nadia as Callen looked out the window. “And if they are outside, they’re quiet. They don’t play, they just…”

“Do nothing,” ended Callen. There was something very wrong here. He could not put his finger on it; but something was there.

Before he could muse on it, Coulson said, “Continue looking around and let me know what’s going on.” And with that, he cut the feed.

Nadia stared at the screen and said, “I don’t know if he’s gotten crankier or mellower since the attack.”

“Is he always like this when it comes to missions?” asked Callen.

“Depends on who the annoyance of the week is,” she replied. “Clint, Tasha, and I tended to rotate that spot. There were a few times that it was all of us at once.”

“So he’s easily annoyed.”

“Pretty much. You’re safe for now because you’re still new. But give it time.”

Callen just shook his head. This was still a lot to get used to. Well, not the undercover part; but the new employment…still hard to get his head around. But his new partner was still a mystery to him. And he wanted to see if she knew anything about his past. “I’ve been meaning to ask…”

“What do you want to know” she asked.

He sighed. “Do you know anything about my family?” He asked as he sat on the edge of the bed.

Sighing, she sat next to him and said, “I don’t know much. But then, my parents really didn’t care about the family business that much. They were more interested in government work. Mostly the program that they were trying to help create,” she replied.

“What program?”

She turned to look at him and said, “I can’t tell you yet. Nothing personal. I just don’t know you yet.”

He nodded. He could understand that. “So what do you know?”

“Probably what Hetty told you – and she did tell me she talked to you the last time we communicated – but I do know that your father was someone close to the family. But I don’t know if he’s related or not. Father and Mother never liked to talk about the family. They never really agreed with them about a lot of things.”

“Yeah, but don’t ask me who,” said Nadia as she laid back on the bed. “But, if you want, we can make it into a field trip. Fury tends to let me, Clint, and Tasha do side projects as long as it doesn’t interrupt official work. I’m sure he would let you to if I’m with you.”

“If you’re with me?”

“You’re still on probation. This little assignment is probably meant to see how well you can do.”

“I’ve done undercover work before.”

“Yeah, but not for S.H.I.E.L.D. We do much more interesting things.”

Callen gave her a look. “More out of the ordinary work?” he wondered, remembering the conversation that they had with Clint a day or two ago.

“Pretty much,” she said as she looked over at him. Callen could see the worry in her eyes, as if she thought that it may be difficult for him.

He looked away from her. “I think I can handle it,” he replied to the unasked question. She just smiled.

But before they could say anything else, the computer suddenly lit up. “What the hell?” wondered Nadia as she sat up. The video screen came on and the duo was surprised to see Clint on the other end. “Clint, what are you doing?” she asked, faking an annoyance that was evident in her voice.

“What? I can’t say hi to my friends?” the archer retorted as he rolled his eyes.

“Not without reason.”

He returned her annoyed look. “I just wanted to see how you guys were doing,” he said.

Deciding to prevent her from saying anything else, Callen said, “We’re doing fine. Nothing to too unusual to mention.” He then looked at his partner and asked, “Safe to assume we work for a bunch of worriers?”

Nadia snorted and replied, “You can say that. Though with Clint, he’s probably bored and can’t annoy Tasha anymore without getting something cut off.”

“I thought that was your thing,” mumbled the archer.

She smiled at him. “Tasha and I share certain ideas when it comes to people – especially annoying ones.” Clint just glared at her. “Where are you anyway?” she asked.

Before Clint could answer, another face popped into the camera. “My lab,” said a dark-haired man with a familiar goatee. “He decided that I can use the company.” Callen immediately recognized Tony Stark. The agent never paid attention to gossip magazines; but he had read what reports he was allowed to read on what happened to the man in Afghanistan.

“Stark,” Nadia greeted curtly, giving the billionaire a glare.

“Nadia, darling,” he greeted, purposely ignoring the glare. “Haven’t seen you in while.”

“I wonder why.”

“Hey, I haven’t done anything to you in a while.”

“You said the key words.”

“You are such a spoilsport,” he grumbled. His eyes fixed on Callen. “So this is your new partner?” he asked. Realizing that the man’s attention was now on him, Callen just stayed quiet, not wanting to reply. “Doesn’t say much, does he?” Tony asked with the sound of insult in his voice.

Nadia rolled her eyes. “Callen, I think you know who this idiot is. Stark, this is Callen,” she said as she introduced the men.

“What? No first name?” asked Tony.

Callen smiled. “I don’t tend to go by my first name,” he replied. Clint snorted – the archer knew that Callen did not know his name. But no one was about to tell the industrialist that.

Tony was about to say something else, but Nadia interrupted with: “We gotta go, guys. Coulson wants more info and we still haven’t gone over much of the town yet.”

Clint nodded. “Good luck and call if you need anything,” he said. Nadia and Callen nodded.

“And bring him by the Tower so I can meet him in person. I don’t like it when three teammates met the newbie already before I do,” said Tony.

“We’ll see, Stark,” said Nadia as she hit the disconnect button. After the screen went dark, she turned to her partner. “Well?” she asked. “Do you want to go look around again?”

“I think I can go for another walk,” replied Callen. They grabbed their stuff and left the room, unaware that they were being watched.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And I brought in Tony. Trust me, he just would not leave me alone unless I put him in somehow. And Clint is the same way. Hope you all enjoy! More chapters are going to be more sporadic with the holidays and college.

**Author's Note:**

> If you want to picture Nadia, think of Katie McGrath from _Merlin_.


End file.
